They Live - Legacy

Legacy

The film was ranked #18 on Entertainment Weekly magazine's "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" list. Rotten Tomatoes ranked the fight scene between Roddy Piper's character, John Nada, and Keith David's character, Frank Armitage, seventh on their list of the "The 20 Greatest Fights Scenes Ever".

The fight between Jimmy and Timmy in the South Park episode "Cripple Fight" is almost a shot-for-shot recreation of the fight between Nada and Frank.

When Nada enters the bank, he proclaims, "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum." The line has become embedded in popular culture and is referenced regularly in the Duke Nukem series of video games by the main protagonist, a parody of 80s macho action heroes.

Jonathan Lethem called They Live one of his "favorite movies of the eighties, hands down," and wrote a book-length homage to it for Soft Skull Press's Deep Focus series.

Shepard Fairey also credits the movie as a major source of inspiration, sharing a similar logo to his "OBEY" campaign. “They Live was … the basis for my use of the word ‘obey,’” Fairey said in a statement. “The movie has a very strong message about the power of commercialism and the way that people are manipulated by advertising.”